Nagahama Amahagan World Malt

Amahagan World Malt is a blended malt from Nagahama Distillery, a small pot-still operation opened in 2016 in a brewpub on the shores of Lake Biwa in Shiga prefecture. As with all World Malt expressions, the liquid combines Nagahama malt with imported whisky from other regions; no only Japanese origin is asserted. This NAS 2019 release is bottled at 47% for global markets.

The maturation begins in Ex-Bourbon casks, which deliver the noted honey and malt extract character alongside a softer vanilla sweetness. The whisky then finishes in mizunara, Japan's native oak, which is prized for its slow, penetrating influence: sandalwood, incense and a faint coconut undercurrent distinguish it from any other wood in the Japanese canon. The mizunara finish here adds an aromatic, temple-wood lift to the honey-rich bourbon base, producing a layered and distinctly Japanese-inflected blended malt.